


Just The Same

by DesertDraggon



Series: The Game Is Glitched Verse [3]
Category: Half-Life, Half-Life VR But The AI Is Self Aware
Genre: Author Notes for More Info, Black Mesa Science, HL2VRAI noncanon, Lore - Freeform, cloning, heart to heart, tragic backstory
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-04
Updated: 2020-07-04
Packaged: 2021-03-04 22:13:33
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 888
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25063687
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DesertDraggon/pseuds/DesertDraggon
Summary: Barney and Gordon share a little conversation about why he and Benrey look so... similar.
Relationships: Barney Calhoun & Gordon Freeman, Benrey/Gordon Freeman (minor)
Series: The Game Is Glitched Verse [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1774858
Comments: 2
Kudos: 53





	Just The Same

**Author's Note:**

> This is set in my The Game Is Glitched series where Gordon is a Real Person who got stuck in a video game. After the events of HLVRAI Gordon's permanently a video game character by choice, and they're still stuck playing The Game, but in it's sequel, HL2. 
> 
> There's also a mention of Alyx, but this is my OC version where she's an AI who's Gordon's daughter; Alyx Joshua Freeman. Just... for context. 
> 
> K bye enjoy~

"I'm sorry you just, you just look so much like him." Gordon whispered, guilty for eyeing Barney the way he has been since they met. The ex-guard shrugged, giving Gordon a warm smile. 

"That's kind of how clones work, you know?" He sat down on a barrel, ready for Gordon to lose himself in a loop again. It was annoying, but in an endearing way. 

"Woah woah, wait what? You're a clone? Benrey was a clone?! I thought that Coomer was the only one with- but wait no Bubby was a test tube baby… and then there were those other scientists that looked like-" 

"Yup. Black Mesa did a lot, and I mean a lot, of cloning. They probably had your DNA on file too. Just in case." Barney confirmed. 

"Does that mean- can you do the same things Benrey can?" The physicist asked, brows knit in worry. "Like, the Sweet Voice, the shape shifting? Teleporting? Growing the size of a skyscraper? Turning into a skeleton?" 

Barney let out a laugh, shaking his head. "No! No. I can use the Sweet Voice, but everything else is uniquely my sibling's thing." He burbled out a bit of green notes as proof. 

"So- what's up with Benrey then? Why can only he do that if you were all clones?" 

It took a moment to mull over his words. Figuring out how to best explain what happened to his sibling. Eventually, Barney began- "When we were fresh. I mean just being trained in security protocol fresh. The lead scientists wanted to try some… further experimentation."

Gordon found himself sitting, enthralled by the lore Benrey seemed to have. 

"They ran a few tests and singled both me and him out as the best candidates. We both had some slight differences that set us apart from the other clones." Barney ran a hand through his hair with a sigh. "We were both so ready to… to make them proud of us. We didn't know what they were going to do but we blindly agreed."

"What did they do?" 

"They wanted to splice our genes with that of an alien species."

The physicist's eyes widened, and he rung his hands nervously. 

"Holy shit."

"Yeah…" Barney leaned back against the stone wall his barrel sat by. "The test didn't take with me, but it took with Benrey. After that… they separated us. It was months before I saw him again. When I did it was only because I was assigned on personal detail to tour him around the facility." 

"To do what? Parade him around?" 

"To teach him the layout. He was being promoted to our chief of security."

"Wait what?" Gordon's head cocked. "That doesn't make any-"

"Oh it made perfect sense. You've seen what he can do." Barney added, shaking a singer at Gordon. "Unfortunately… I saw what they did to him really did to him. He was- emotionless is too weak a word to describe how void of any feeling he was."

Barney looked saddened by that, crossing his arms in a comfort. "He… he wasn't my sibling anymore, you know? He felt more like a machine."

"That sounds awful. Jeeze, I thought he just acted like that to piss people off." Gordon rubbed his beard in amazement. 

"Oh what you know of him is way better than how he used to be." He reassured. "Benrey was far more full of life than before… it took him a long time to get there." 

Gordon stood and paced around, clearly distraught by the information. Benrey didn't always used to be… that thing he was back in Xen. He was just a normal (as normal as a clone can be) dude. 

"That's insane." He finally breathed, running a hand across his scalp. "That's crazy- I- how in the hell did they do that to him?" 

Barney shrugged again, sliding off his barrel and dusting off his pants. 

"I don't know. I can't even pretend to know. But they did it. They turned him into that… thing. But-" he stopped, his voice full of deep sorrow. "That thing is… was… my sibling. And I'm just… sad I didn't get to see him one more time. You know?" 

The guilt hitt Gordon. Hard. Here he was, eyeing a man like he was an alien murder machine wearing the mask of a... friend... when he just needed to look in the mirror to find one. God, Benrey's death always got to him. 

"I'm sorry." The physicist whispered. 

"Don't be." Barney whispered back. "He'll be back. He has a hard time staying dead." He confidently grinned, giving Gordon a playful shove. 

Gordon sighed, shaking his head. "I killed him though, I killed your sibling… how are you not as livid with me as I am myself right now?" The concern and guilt his voice dropped with mad Barney's heart break. 

"Hey, hey. No. It's not- I'm not mad at you for any of that! It's just how this… world… works." Barney grabbed Gordon by the shoulders. "Don't be a loser, dude." 

What a fucking Benrey thing to say. 

Gordon chuckled at that. "Fuck- yeah. Ok. Fine." 

"Good man. Alright, now that you're not guilt tripping every time you look at me, let's go rescue your daughter, hm?"

"Oh fuck, right! Alyx! And Bubby!"

"Oh yeah that guy too."

**Author's Note:**

> Very dialogue heavy, sorry. I just really REALLY needed to write out this headcanon before it gets lost like the rest of the brain rot thoughts I get.


End file.
